The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-08-24
MENWH0 BORROW MONEY
WHATA GROUP OF PHILOSOPHERS
SAY ABOUT THEM


Destiny-A Peculiar Fact Worthy of
an Explanation.
From the Washington Post.
A group of gentlemen were standing in
front Of the counter at Wizards talking to-
gether and with the clerk behind the counter
about impoStors, money borrowers, and
dead beats. All seemed to agree that there
was no season of the year when there were
not plenty of these around Washington,
and it was the general opinion that there
was no American citizen so poor in acquaint-
ances as not to have made the acquaintance
of at least one. Zone hundred the hotel
clerk suggested, believing from his own ex-
perience that that was about the smallest
number of deadbeats encountered by any
man out of prison cell. They all reflected
moment, and each admitted that he had
been "beatn over a hundred times, over a
| hundred times he had vowed that he would
never lend dollar again, and over hun
dred times he had forgotten the good resoiu
ton and given himself away anew to other
deadbeats. Another thing, which was dis
| covered on comparing notes, was that not
one in the group had ever borrowed dollar
in his life.
Which goes to show" said the principal
| interrogation, that there are only two
classes of pcople-borrowers and lenders, or,
as they are sometimes called, deadbeats and
| suckers. You must either be one or the
other or keep clear of both. There is no
reciprocity about it, no mutual accommoda-
ton in it; the lender to-day is not the Dor
rover tomorrow. Not at all. The Dor
rover today is the borrower tomorrow,
and the next day and always.
The other fellow, without any effort
on his own part, has his affairs
| shaped for him so that he is always con-
fined to one branch of the business; he is a
| lender always, never gets a chance to Dor
row, and never falls into the habit of Dor
rowing. Friends are always coming to him
| for money. They are elways friends at that
stage of the game, but friends never again.
Either they drift out of sight and are forgot
! ten, or they are known afterward as snealls,
and skins and dead beats Every new dead
beat presents himself in the character of a
friend.
HE CAN'T RESIST.
1.-THE chronic lender, made so by constitu-
| ton, by circumstances and by habit never
doubts a friend. He would bruise the
head of fraud, bnt it SO happens that no
amount of experience enables him to know a
fraud until after the act, and then the latest
| fraud has drifted away in the wake of his
| long line of predecessors. You look after
him at a distance, and swear that if you
|
| you would have made it hot for him. But
you don't think so unkindly of the other
frand, who is waiting his opportunity to re-
peat the old trick, your indignation
is all against the fellow who has
got your money and gone He is, perhaps,
not half as mean as the fellow
who hasn't yet got your money. but who
will soon get it. If you are naturally a
sucker, no amount of experience will teach
you how to refuse a loan The most dis
reputable bum in existence may strike you,
and you may be perfectly aware of his rep
utation, but still you will let him get the
best of you. If an impulse to refuse the
bait rises in you, another impulse puts that
down imml diltely, and with generous stu
pid sentiment a feeling that it would be
mean to a fellow in need when you could
help him, you let your money go, even
though you say the next moment: We'll,
that's sneak and Pm fool 1t seems once
a lender always lender.n
ONE CONSOLATION ABOUT 1T.
"And then,n said another member of the
| group, comes in this consoing reflection,
that the fellow who is always willing to
lend is generally able to lend the fellow who
| is Away willing to borrow is not always SO
| well off. So there seems to be something,
whatever 1t may be, that always makes the
sucker moro than even with the sneak.
| have often thought that after all, it is per-
haps best to be the sucker. At all events,
there's no use in kicking: some of US have
got to be suckers. Whatever is worth doing
is worth doing well. "
A REMARKABLE FACT.
cts remarkable fact said Chicago
man, "that the handsomest, the most accom-
plished and the most lovable fellows have
| ever met were dishonest. Some are dishon-
est in private affairs and as public officials
exact to a hairs breadth. Others would
| cut hand off before they would cheat a
| friend out of a cent, but are utterly unScru-
pulous with public money. Now, there is
| McGarigle, Van Pelt, Mackn and the entire
| gang OF Chicago boodlers the incest, the
| cleverest fellows you could meet the best
of friends to their friends; you couldn't help
liking them, you know. There was not
bank i'll Chicago that wouldn't have
| trusted any of them with thousands
| Not one of them was ever known to Dor
row a dollar from friend without paying
it back The soul of honor in personal re-
lations, every one of them, but unmitigated
scoundrelS IN regard to public money. That
reminds me, by the way said the same
speaker, diverging and addressing himself
to the hotel clerk. "You know Brown that
l introduced to you the other dayl Yes.
Well, Brown is a first rate fellow. | know
him very well, and think an immense deal
of him, but think l ought to say to you
L
would hardly let him have it,"
why i'll blazes didn't you tell me that be-
foreN said the clerk, considerably reused.
He borrowed $40 from me just last night y
All laughed except the hotel clerk.
WHY THE MAJOR Is UNHAPPY.
Then Maj. Peabody, whose large figure is
familiar in the lobby of the Ebbltt House,
struck in with some remarks upon his ex-
perimce as a money lender, but he spoke
from different standpoint The Major,
like many another shrewd business man, has
lent his money systematically and made
profit by il. But things are not running as
well with him as formerly. While Re
publican presided at the White House and
Republicans ruled the departments, and the
departments We're manned by Republicans
almost exclusively, the Major did a thrv-
ing business among the department clerks
and other public servants And he had
very little trouble in making his collec-
tiolls then, for he had only TO pre-
sent the note bearing the borrowers
name, and the department would collect il
for him. Now the major does not enjoy
the same facilities, and he is more or less
vexed about it. The heads of departments
in the present administration exclude all
professional money LENDERS from the gov
eminent buildings, and give them no hear
ing at all, no facilities to ply their trade on
government ground. They also refuse to
act rs COLLECTING ot~auts for tha tnonn,-- land